Abstract
Tunnel ovens are widely used in the food industry to produce biscuits and pastries. In order to obtain a high quality product, it is very important to control the heat transferred to each piece of dough during baking. This paper proposes an innovative, non-distorting, low cost wireless temperature measurement system, called “eBiscuit”, which, due to its size, format and location in the metal rack conveyor belt in the oven, is able to measure the temperature a real biscuit experience while baking. The temperature conditions inside the oven are over 200 °C for several minutes, which could damage the “eBiscuit” electronics. This paper compares several thermal insulating materials that can be used in order to avoid exceeding the maximum operational conditions (80 °C) in the interior of the “eBiscuit. The data registered is then transmitted to a base station where information can be processed to obtain an oven model. The experimental results with real tunnel ovens confirm its good performance, which allows detecting production anomalies early on.
Highlights
In many industrial sectors, it is necessary to maintain critical variables with a high degree of accuracy and uniformity
The heat is transferred to the dough using clean hot air. This air reaches a high temperature using a group of burners and a heat exchanger to avoid any contamination of the air that comes into contact with the cooked product in the oven
Given the drawbacks of fixed means of temperature measurement to determine the oven profile, biscuit manufacturers often use external, non-fixed means such as data measurement and storage equipment as their main way of knowing about and controlling the fundamental variables involved in production
Summary
It is necessary to maintain critical variables with a high degree of accuracy and uniformity. The heat is transferred to the dough using clean (uncontaminated) hot air This air reaches a high temperature using a group of burners and a heat exchanger to avoid any contamination of the air that comes into contact with the cooked product in the oven. There is a tendency to fit out new ovens with pyrometers, which in contrast to thermocouples allow direct temperature measurement of the product’s surface, reflecting any changes in temperature almost immediately This allows for an exact representation of the heating taking place inside the oven, and contributes to optimal control of the process. Given the drawbacks of fixed means of temperature measurement (thermocouples and pyrometers) to determine the oven profile, biscuit manufacturers often use external, non-fixed means such as data measurement and storage equipment (dataloggers) as their main way of knowing about and controlling the fundamental variables involved in production. This paper analyses several thermal insulating materials which guarantee the proper functioning and comply with the size and format requirements of the “eBiscuit”
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